1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (known in the trade under the name F113) has been widely used in industry to clean and degrease very varied solid surfaces made of metal, glass, plastic, composites) Besides its application in electronics in the cleaning of soldering fluxes in order to remove the stripping flux which adheres to printed circuits, mention may be made of its applications in the degreasing of heavy metal articles and in the cleaning of high-quality and high-precision mechanical components such as, for example, gyroscopes and military, aerospace or medical equipment. In its various applications, F113 is usually combined with other organic solvents (for example methanol), preferably in the form of azeotropic or virtually azeotropic mixtures which do not demix and which, when used at reflux, have substantially the same composition in the vapour phase as in the liquid phase.
F113 is also used in operations to dry or dewet surfaces by means of hydrophobic surfactants.
However, the use of compositions based on F113 is now banned since F113 is among the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are suspected of attacking or degrading stratospheric ozone.
In these various applications, F113 may be replaced by 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (known under the name F141b), but the use of this substitute is already regulated since, although low, its destructive effect on ozone is not non-existent.